Breaking And Entering
by miekhead
Summary: Was season 1 the first time Claudia and Leena met? Two years before Claudia joins the Warehouse, Leena catches her trying to break in.


Got this prompt over on tumblr. Let me know what you think!

oxoxoxo

Claudia Donovan had always been good at moving from place to place without a) getting attached, and b) having any baggage. She didn't need to worry about where her next place would take her because frankly, that was part of the fun of it.

This though… Oh boy, this was dangerous. As Claudia lay in her new bed at Leena's B&B, her brother's temporary room empty as he currently flew over 4000 miles to his new home…alive, she began to ponder what this apparent new life meant. She thought back to her conversation with Leena and rolled her eyes.

_"Of course, but you do_."

She faked a gag and kicked around in the bed, beyond frustrated. That woman was annoying, pretentious and super intelligent and Claudia hated every bit of it. When she'd calmed down after a few minutes of grumbling, the tired out redhead reminisced about how she got here, and more importantly why on Earth she was still here.

_She was stupid. Seriously stupid…naive and over-confident. And it was also freaking cold. Claudia's fingers worked nimbly despite the sub-zero temperature as she tried to disarm the security alarm of the huge metal building. She muttered under her breath, watching the condensation flicker around her as she exhaled. Before she knew it, the door swung open and she attempted to suppress the jump of glee. It would have been in vain, however, when her eyes traveled up long, gorgeously tan legs. Pink flannel sleeping shorts, a flowing crimson button up t-shirt blouse and crossed arms. A woman… crossing her arms. Crap. And her right hand was gripping some kind of crazy water gun thing. Double crap. _

_"If I scream," the woman began with a bluff, "you will probably be put away for a very, very long time." her nostrils flared and she watched, squinting strangely at Claudia as she put up her hands behind her head.  
__She'd been sleeping, taking over from Artie while he recuperated from his annual appendectomy. When the sirens had gone off, she'd opened her eyes blearily and looked to the CCTV feed to see a young woman trying to break in._

_"Probably better that way," Claudia mumbled. Leena opened her mouth to bellow but something stopped her. The teen's aura was tortured…manic. Heartbreaking. She found herself clutching at her chest in agony. "Please… Don't say anything. I'll go," the redhead said desperately, so quiet it was even hard to hear over the deathly silence of the South Dakota Badlands. The night was crystal clear, each star twinkling brightly no matter their distance. Claudia lowered her eyes and shut them tightly, waiting for the scream, or the blow from that odd looking gun. _

_Leena's expression softened and she lowered her hand, putting the tesla back into her pocket. Something told her… something she didn't quite understand right now, but she ended up pointing over to the mass of land. "You leave now, I won't say anything. But you dare come back here again or you will go down for trespassing and breaking and entering government property."_

_"In an IRS Warehouse." _

_Leena's expression remained unwavering. "Yes."_

_Claudia's hands stuffed in her pockets and she nodded solemnly, biting her lip. She was far too young for this shit. Back to the drawing board._

_Leena watched her closely, but there was no way she could have predicted the young scatty woman to approach her, cup the back of her head with a hand. Fingers tangled in her hair and she was pulled down slightly for Claudia to then gently kiss her cheek. Before she could figure out what had happened, the redhead loped off, kicking up a storm of dust as she did so. _

Claudia lay with her arm behind her head and delicately touched her own lips with a finger. And she was right. That damn, know-it-all, perfectly preened, aura-reading woman was right. She did like her. And that overly smug "But you do," meant that Claudia would be paying for that small, meaningless kiss outside the Warehouse two years ago for as long as she stayed here. She let out a reluctant grin despite herself and covered her face with a pillow. With what felt like the thousandth frustrated sigh, Claudia Donovan rolled over in her new bed, her new home and closed her eyes to what would be one of the best darn sleeps of her life.


End file.
